Loch Ness

Loch Ness is definitely the most famous lake (loch) in . It is 37 kilometres long and 2.5 kilometres wide. It is quite deep: in volume terms, the lake could contain the world population three times! The lake is said to be the home of a famous monster named Nessie. The presence of a monster was first recorded in 565 by St Columba, an Irish monk. But Nessie really became a world sensation in 1933 when a photograph was published in The Daily Express. A year later, the “Surgeon’s Photograph” was published in the Daily Mail. However, in 1975, the photograph was revealed as a fake: the monster was nothing but a toy submarine with a head and neck The Surgeon’s Photograph made of plastic wood!

The Wallace Monument ()

The National Wallace Monument is located just outside Stirling and was built to commemorate . The monument was completed in 1869. It stands 500 feet above the valley floor on the top of . There are 246 steps. William Wallace was a famous Scottish warrior who was born in the 13th century. William Wallace is famous for leading Scotland in the fight for independence from England. William Wallace was eventually captured by the English and taken to London where he was executed in 1305. His body was cut into four parts. William Wallace’s fight was continued by who won a great victory at the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314. William Wallace’s life is fictionalized in the movie which was released in 1995 and won 5 Academy Awards.

Ben Nevis

Ben Nevis is the highest mountain in the British Isles. It is located in the north-west of Scotland. The name comes from two Gaelic words and means ‘venomous / malicious mountain’. Another possible translation is ‘the mountain with its head in the clouds’. Ben Nevis is 4,409 feet (1,344 metres) high. © L.H. 2012

The Isle of Skye

The Isle of Skye is famous for its beautiful landscapes. Many people come to the Isle of Skye to climb or hike (walk). There are over 9000 people living on the island. The Isle of Skye is an ideal place for outdoor activities such as golf, pony trekking, diving, canoeing, windsurfing and yachting. If you are fond of nature, the Isle of Skye offers nice places for fishing and birdwatching.

Famous Scottish Inventions

Scotland has produced many great inventors. Here is a selection of great Scottish inventions:

1. the television invented by John Logie Baird in 1922.

2. the refrigerator. The first known artificial refrigeration was demonstrated by William Cullen

at the University of in 1748. In 1856, James Harrison, an immigrant from Scotland

living in Australia, developed an ice making machine using ammonia and an ether compressor.

3. the bicycle invented by Kirkpatrick Macmillan in 1839.

4. the telephone invented by Alexander Graham Bell in 1876.

5. Sherlock Holmes created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Holmes, who first appeared in

publication in 1887.

6. the flush toilet invented by Alexander Cummings in 1775.

7. the radar invented by Robert Watson-Watt in the mid-1930s.

8. hypnosis developed by James Braid in the 1840s.

9. Peter Pan created by J.M. Barrie at the beginning of the 20th century.

10. the pneumatic tyre invented by and John Boyd Dunlop in 1888.

11. the first cloned mammal, Dolly the sheep, in , in 1997.

12. macadamised roads developed by John Loudon McAdam around 1820.

13. penicillin discovered in 1928 by Sir Alexander Fleming.

14. the development of the steam engine by James Watt during the 18th century.

© L.H. 2012